FARM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 
31 
MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BARLEY 
The average rate of seeding barley on these farms was 2 bushels 
per acre; the range from 1.6 to 2.4 bushels. The average quantity 
of twine used per acre was 2 pounds and the range 1.6 to 3.7 pounds. 
The usual threshing rate was 4 cents per bushel in 1921 and 1922 
and 6 cents in 1920. The threshing rate for barley is usually 1 cent 
higher per bushel than the rate for oats. (Table 20.) 
Table 20. — Standard requirements per acre for barley production in southwestern 
Minnesota 
Operation and implement used 
Plowing, gang plow and 5 horses 
Disking, 8-foot disk and 4 horses 
Harrow T ing, 22-foot harrow and 4 horses 
Seeding, 10-foot drill and 4 horses 
Cutting, 8-foot binder and 4 horses 
Shocking 
Shock threshing 
Hours of labor 
Man 
Horse 
Acres 
covered 
in a 10- 
hour day 
5 
20 
50 
20 
13H 
10 
4 
Seed, 2 bushels. 
Twine, 2J4 pounds. 
If this crop were to be stacked, the shock-threshing hours should 
be replaced with 2.75 man hours and 3.25 horse hours for stacking, 
and 1 man hour and 1.25 horse hours for stack threshing. 
DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR ON BARLEY 
Table 21 shows the dates between which the different operations 
on the barley crop are commonly performed and the days usually 
available for the operation during the period: 
Table 21. — Dates and work days available for different operations on the barley 
crop 
Operation Dates 
Day s 
avail- 
able 
Operation 
Dates 
Days 
avail- 
able 
Spring plowing 
Disking 
Apr. 20 to Apr. 28... 
Apr. 10 to Apr. 29... 
Apr. 18 to May 1 
Apr. 21 to Apr. 30- 
7 
16 
11 
7 
Cutting and shock- 
ing. 
Stacking 
Stack threshing 
Shock threshing 
July 15 to July22__. 
Aug. 1 to Aug. 10 
Aug. 25 to Sept. 30.. 
Aug. 1 to Aug. 15 
i 
7 
Seeding. 
22 
11 
On account of the shorter time required to mature the crop, 
barley can be sown later than oats with equal chance of getting a 
good crop. The seed-bed preparation and seeding for barley are 
usually fitted in between those for oats and corn. The barley ordi- 
narily ripens a few days earlier than the oats. 
Figure 9 shows the labor distribution by days on a farm having 15 
acres of barley. The land was all spring plowed, and harrowed 
twice before seeding and once after. The crop was shock threshed. 
This barley was seeded five days later than the oats on the same farm 
and cut two days earlier. 
